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CT scans of fossilized primate skulls or skull fragments from both the Old and New Worlds may shed light on how these extinct animals moved, especially for those species without any known remains, according to an international team of researchers. The researchers looked at the bony labyrinth in fossil remains and compared them to CT scans previously obtained from living primate species. The bony labyrinth of the inner ear is made up of the cochlea -- the major organ of hearing -- the vestibule and the three semicircular canals which sense head motion and provide input to synchronize movement with visual stimuli.

One of the first-ever analyses of the effects of global warming on endangered primates has examined how El Nino warming has affected the abundance of four highly threatened New World monkeys. All four monkey species showed drops in abundance relating to large-scale climate fluctuations. The study suggests that the consequences of intensified climate fluctuations could be devastating for several primate species.

Evolutionary biologists have filled in most of the branches on the primate family tree. But which group of mammals are primates' closest relatives? With the emergence of new fossil and molecular evidence, the question has been hotly debated over the last 10 years.